Based on Characters created by Gordon Buford Written by Arthur Alsberg
Don Nelson
Don Tait Directed by Charles S. Dubin
Vincent McEveety
Bill Bixby Starring Dean Jones
Patricia Harty
Richard Paul
Claudia Wells
Douglas Emerson
Nicky Katt
Larry Linville Music by Frank De Vol
Tom Worrall Opening theme "Herbie, My Best Friend" sung by Dean Jones |
Herbie, the Love Bug is a 1982 American comedy series that aired on CBS from March 17 to April 14, 1982. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on a series of films about Herbie, a white 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own.
Contents
The series was cancelled after five episodes and, for the next fifteen years, would mark Herbie's last new appearance in either television or film until his return in the 1997 film The Love Bug. The show's theme song "Herbie, My Best Friend" was performed by its star, Dean Jones.
Plot
Dean Jones, who had appeared in two of the films (The Love Bug and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo), reprises his role of Jim Douglas, Herbie's original owner, now a retired race car driver who works as an instructor at the Famous Driving School with his partner Bo Phillips (Richard Paul). He and Herbie stumble upon a bank robbery in progress. They manage to thwart the crime and rescue a young divorcée named Susan MacLane (Patricia Harty), who works at the bank and is a mother of three: Julie (Claudia Wells), Robbie (Douglas Emerson) and Matthew (Nicky Katt). Jim and Susan soon begin to fall in love, much to the consternation of her ex-boyfriend Randy Bigelow (Larry Linville). Randy's attempts to break them up are in vain; Jim and Susan get married in "Herbie, the Best Man" episode that aired on April 7.